Finding Out
by Katiyana
Summary: Being here means adjusting to many differences and yet many things are the same. Relationships change with time and circumstances. Building new relationships and redefining old ones are challenging tasks for everyone involved. J/D , M/I
1. Chapter 1

Author : Katiyana

Author : Katiyana

Summary : Sequel to 'Being Here'. Adjusting to altered relationships can be extremely challenging.

Disclaimer : The characters identifiable from Babylon 5 are not mine.

Notes : Thank you for all the encouraging reviews. Hope you enjoy the second part. On with the story.

Chapter 1

"Go! Keep going and don't look back. You know what to do if you need to, now go!" yelled Marcus with great effort. He hardly had any breath to spare as he fought off his assailants.

Iona swallowed a sob and kept on moving. She was practically dragging her brother and sister by the hand into the shuttle. She quickly shut the door and started up the shuttle. She was crying but she couldn't help it. Her hands were sweaty and slippery, her tears were blinding her.

"Strap yourselves in and shut your eyes tight," she ordered her siblings, more harshly than she had meant to. They obeyed her without a word. They were terrified too.

Iona managed to put the shuttle into take-off sequence in spite of her trembling hands, blurry vision and the pounding in her head. She was aware of Marcus still being relentlessly attacked. He was still near enough that she could feel a lot of his pain. She was able to pick up on strong emotions easily especially from anyone that she loved and was close to. In this case, her senses were overloaded with her emotions and that of others. Everyone was fighting furiously.

Iona could feel her siblings' terror and the emotions from her mother and her father somewhere. For a few minutes, she felt her tight control slip and she saw through the eyes of her mother. Susan was in a Whitestar. She was only slightly hurt and concentrating on the battle with an iron will.

At least her mother was okay, that was something good. The Whitestar looked like it had been battered but it was holding up. Iona knew that her mother could feel her. But Susan didn't have time to divert any attention from what she was doing. The battle was not going well. In the last instant, Iona saw something large loom up on the viewing screen of the Whitestar.

"No!" was her strangled gasp but she was pushed away forcefully by her mother's mind. She felt her mother's pain, then there was nothing. Had her mother died? Oh, please, no! She couldn't feel Marcus anymore either. Her father? She panicked as she realized that she could not feel his emotions now. What about him? What had happened to him?

"No! No! They can't be gone! They can't! They're not!" she screamed in denial, tears coursing down her cheeks. She had been handling the shuttle on auto-pilot. She had already been trained to use it since she was fifteen. She could probably fly it with her eyes closed.

"No!" she screamed again and again in absolute terror.

"Iona," came her mother's voice.

But Mama was gone. Was she not gone? What had happened? Mama's ship, what had happened to Mama's ship?

"Iona! Wake up! It's a nightmare. Iona!" said Susan, catching hold of Iona's wildly thrashing arms and holding them firmly. She continued to speak to the girl to coax her out of the nightmare. It was now a nightly occurrence.

Initially it had been Will and DJ who were haunted the most by nightmares. Iona had not been so troubled with them. But after a few weeks, Will and DJ's nightmares began to decrease in frequency. They were still very young and could bounce back quickly. There were many differences in this universe but nothing they could not adapt to fairly easily. They had everyone they knew and loved around them, for them adjusting into their new life here was going well.

Iona's nightmares had emerged and began to increase in intensity. The girl would scream and trash around and anyone who attempted to wake her up had found out that her flailing arms should first be held or she would waking up fighting the person. Susan, John and Marcus had all been hit by her as they had tried to get her to wake up.

Susan was worried as she woke Iona up and hugged her. Iona blinked as she regained consciousness, accepted the hug briefly and mumbled a word of thanks. Then she turned away and lay back, pulling the covers over herself.

Susan knew that Iona could not go on like this. She had not had a good nights' sleep in over two weeks. After being woken up, Iona would either stay awake or fall asleep and then have another nightmare. Iona was exhausted. She would not talk about it to anyone and she maintained that she was fine. Clearly Iona was anything but fine, yet she would not let anyone help her.

Susan sighed as she got back into her bed. Iona was displaying the same destructive coping mechanisms she herself tended to use. They were not healthy ways to cope. Susan acknowledged that. It seemed easier to see that in another person. She had made sure that all her vodka was hidden away.

But this could not go on. Iona was fading away. She had nearly been seriously injured when Will had accidentally knocked her over today. Thankfully Marcus' quick movement had stopped Iona from cracking her head on the floor. She was so tired that she would not even eat much. Her night terrors were draining her interest in anything and her concentration was non-existent.

Something had to change. Unfortunately Susan had no clue how to achieve that change. She only knew that she would not stand by and watch while Iona continued to suffer. There must be a way to get through to the girl. She had to find it soon.


	2. Chapter 2

"What else can we do?" groaned Susan in frustration.

"Commander, may I venture a suggestion?" asked Marcus.

"What?" snapped Susan, irritably.

"Perhaps you may want to try to reach her by your telepathic bond," suggested Marcus.

There was a dead silence. Susan and John looked at him.

Marcus quailed at the look on Susan's face and was starting to wish that he had not said anything at all. He'd only been trying to help.

"How do you know about that?" asked Susan in a dangerous voice.

"Will mentioned that sharing his thoughts with you or Iona helped him to be stronger in facing the nightmares. From what he said, I gathered that you, Iona and Will are telepathic, at least towards each other. I'm sorry," apologized Marcus without quite knowing why.

Susan's glare softened.

"Of course, you'd know. Will's their son. They were married. He must've known too," she said, almost to herself.

Susan looked at Marcus.

"But that doesn't scare you at all, does it?" she said to him, not really asking it as a question. Marcus wasn't sure how to reply and for once, kept his silence.

Susan was beginning to understand how her counterpart had married his in the other universe. The man could be the most annoying pest in the universe at times but he was a good and loyal man. She shook her head slightly. Iona was the focus here.

"Marcus may have a point, Susan," said John thoughtfully.

"She won't listen or talk to us and we've already found out that sleeping pills don't work," emphasized Marcus.

Susan looked at both of them with a stubborn expression. Both men were immediately struck by Iona's resemblance to the woman in front of them. Her current expression was now mirrored on a daily basis by the sullen teenager. There was a pause in the conversation.

"And do what?" burst out Susan, throwing up her hands wildly.

"So I can reach her telepathically. She won't speak to us now, would it make that much of a difference. Just because I can speak to her in her mind? I mean, yes I can speak to her telepathically but then what do I say that hasn't already been said? What else can I do that talking normally won't achieve?" ranted Susan, pacing up and down the length of the room.

The two men looked at each other blankly. They let her pace and kept quiet. There didn't seem to be anything else to do.

"Mama, why is Ina so sad?" questioned Will, suddenly. He was having his dinner with Susan. Marcus was away and Iona was having dinner with her father.

Susan was startled and didn't answer straight away.

"Is it because me and DJ did something wrong?" was the following query.

Susan hastened to reassure him that was not the reason that his elder sister was so unhappy.

"Is she mad because me and DJ like you all as our parents?" persisted the little boy.

"Will, how did you get that idea?" asked Susan, with a slight frown.

Will hung his head.

"I heard Ina talking in her mind," replied Will guiltily.

Susan instantly remembered that she had yet to test Will's telepathic ability. There had been so many other details to consider. For someone so young, he seemed to pick up on a lot. She was sure that he had more ability than she had ever had. That could potentially be a huge problem.

"When?" asked Susan.

"I know I'm not supposed to and everyone's thoughts are their own and no one should listen without permission but me and DJ just want to know why she doesn't love us anymore," said Will sadly.

Susan sighed and put her hand on one of his.

"It's okay, Will. You need to remember that people's thoughts belong to themselves. But I think I can see why you were listening to Iona. I think that you should tell her and apologize to her at some point later. We'll explain it to her and I'm sure that she won't be mad at you for that. But for now, what made you think that she's mad at you and DJ?" said Susan encouragingly.

"She's sad cause we're here. And you're not really her Mama and Uncle John isn't really her Dad. And she hurts so much. And she's sort of mad that we like it here and we don't mind so much that you're not really our Mama and Daddy. But then she feels really bad that she's mad at us. So she feels bad about it some more and then she just gets really upset. But she won't hug us anymore and she won't listen so we don't know how to help," said Will in a rush.

That was certainly illuminating. Susan didn't doubt that the boy's impression of his sister's feelings were entirely accurate. Iona could have gone through the whole range of emotions in just a few seconds.

"I'm sorry, Will. Iona's having a hard time right now. I know that she does love you and DJ, you're just going to have to be a bit patient with her while she sorts her feelings out," said Susan, not really knowing quite how to proceed.

Will hesitated.

"Would it be easier for her if we didn't like you all?" he asked frankly.

Susan looked at him for a minute.

"I really don't think so, Will. Iona's just feeling really bad right now and I don't think it's at all rational. She's not sleeping well because of nightmares and I think that being tired makes her feel even worse. It doesn't really have anything to do with you two being comfortable here. I think she just misses her real parents very much," said Susan slowly, thinking aloud and trying to explain it as simply as possible.

"Mama?" ventured Will after a short period of silence.

"Yes?" answered Susan automatically. She didn't think twice about it now, it was just so natural.

"Are we ever going to go back to our universe?" asked Will.

Susan was still. The realization that she could not imagine her life without Will anymore, struck her with a painful jolt. What would she do if they were able to go home? It hurt immensely to even think about losing Will.

"I..," Susan seemed to have lost her voice.

"I don't know, Will," she managed finally.

"I'm not sure but it may be possible someday," she choked out, pulling herself together.

"Oh," said Will.

"You don't want me to go," he continued, staring at her.

Susan didn't know how to reply. She didn't think that she could ever let them go.


	3. Chapter 3

Marcus stopped his training moves and looked up as the door to the training hall opened. Iona walked in, carrying a pike. It was strange to feel surprised yet at the same time knowing that it wasn't really that unexpected. Iona had obviously been trained to fight by both her parents. She was also close to her step-parents and Marcus could clearly follow the rational line of thought towards equipping Iona with every skill available for her own advantage. That would certainly include fighting with the pike.

However, the girl in front of him looked gaunt and desperately weary. She had lost a lot of weight since she had arrived. He felt as concerned as both of her parents about her current state. He just wished he knew what to do to draw her out of it.

Marcus was aware of what she wanted. But he was also one of the people who could truly understand what it meant to have your whole life and the people you loved, wiped out. He guessed that it was more difficult for Iona because she still saw the same people and many of the same things that she had lost every single day. She couldn't move past it because she was constantly reminded of her former life and she didn't know what had happened in her own universe.

Iona looked at him and stood still.

Marcus decided that he would try to get her to open up in his own way.

"Shall we spar?" asked Marcus.

Iona didn't reply but held her pike at ready.

Marcus lunged first, which was not his usual pattern. Iona met the lunge and parried. They gradually warmed up and proceeded to more intricate moves.

Marcus noted that Iona had been taught well. The Rangers were trained to fight well even if their physical states were diminished. Iona was tired but her concentration was good and she had good instincts. Her empathic ability would help her in that respect but Marcus knew that even with that ability a person had to have skill to incorporate that into their strategy. Iona had poise and confidence and even though Marcus was not seriously pushing her at the moment, he acknowledged her prowess. She was still very young and to have achieved such a level at this age took years of discipline. Then again she was Susan and John's daughter. She was probably determined to be the very best that she could be. He just knew that had would be the case in a lot of areas in Iona's life.

"You're not fighting properly," said Iona, with a flat voice.

That tone of voice greatly concerned Marcus. It was devoid of any feeling.

"I beg your pardon. I am fighting properly. I just don't feel like having to explain to your parents why I put you into Medlab, if you don't mind," quipped Marcus.

"They're not my parents," shot back Iona. She attacked more aggressively.

"Not quite. But they care for you immensely and I know that they'd definitely have a problem with you being hurt in any way," returned Marcus.

"Why should they care? Why should you care? We're not your kids at all. You owe us nothing," burst out Iona. There was anger in her voice now.

"That's not true. You are our children. Not necessarily by actual birth but ask anyone to verify it, you are our flesh and blood," countered Marcus.

"You're not! You're not my step-father. He fought for us. He was hurt badly but he kept on fighting. I couldn't feel him anymore!" protested Iona.

The battle was continuing but Iona was becoming more aggressive and hasty. Marcus simply parried and let her hit out at him. She needed a release and he could understand that.

"And she's not my mother. My mother was on a Whitestar. Something crashed into it. She was gone. And I couldn't feel my father anymore," shouted Iona, tears starting to stream down her face.

Iona started to hit out indiscriminately. Her tears were starting to blind her and her emotions were getting the better of her. Marcus knew that despite her training, her mind and body were so fatigued that she simply could not keep up her concentration. He did his best to ensure that she didn't hurt herself. She was just lashing out now. He doubted whether she knew what she wanted to lash out at, she was just in so much pain.

It took some time before Iona's energy was spent. She simply collapsed on the floor when she could not continue anymore. There were silent tears still running down her cheeks.

Marcus watched in sympathy. He would stay with her but he didn't move to comfort her. He sensed that she needed her own space just now. That was okay. She could have all the time that she needed. She needed to come to terms with everything that had happened. He would stay with her so that she wouldn't have to be alone.

"Ina?" whispered Will, trying to see if his sister was awake yet. Mama and Marcus had said to not wake her up. But it would be okay if she was already up right? He was pretty sure that he could feel that his sister was awake.

"Will, Daddy said that we can't wake Ina," whispered DJ, tugging on his arm.

"But I think she's up," whispered back Will.

DJ looked at him disbelievingly.

"She's been asleep for hours. Shouldn't we check if she's okay?" rationalized Will quickly.

DJ's look became uncertain. She too wondered if her sister was okay. She glanced at the dining area. Lennier was babysitting them today. He seemed engrossed in his work and not paying attention to what they were doing.

"Well," hesitated DJ.

"It's okay you two, come in," came Iona's voice.

Will and DJ peered into the darkened room. They could just make out the form of their sister, sitting up in her bed.

Lennier appeared to have heard her too. He glanced over at them. He had a mildly disapproving expression.

"We didn't wake her, Lennier. She was already up," defended Will quickly.

"It's okay. I am up. Come in," called Iona.

Will and DJ looked over at Lennier for confirmation. He nodded slightly, which was enough to send the two children scampering into the room and onto the bed on either side of Iona.

Will pounced on his sister and hugged her exuberantly. DJ patiently awaited her turn and moved to hug her sister as well when Will released her.

"Ina, are you okay?" asked Will.

"Yeah, are you feeling sick?" queried DJ.

"I'm so sorry guys. I'm not really physically sick. But I've been feeling very bad. I haven't coped well at all, have I? I'm sorry," said Iona softly.

"It's okay, Ina. You'll get better right?" said Will. There was some uncertainty in his voice.

"I think so. It's just a bit hard for now," said Iona honestly.

"Can we help?" asked DJ.

"You're helping right now," said Iona, hugging both of them tightly.

They were content to cuddle up to her for a while.

"Ina, you're not mad at us are you?" asked Will.

Iona looked at him in surprise.

"No, Will. Why would you think that I'm mad at you? I just, I'm not coping very well with some things, is all," replied Iona.

"Well, I sort of felt you," muttered Will, tapping his head lightly. He looked ashamed and miserable.

"Oh, Will. I'm so sorry. I'm not mad at you. It's nothing you've done. I'm finding it difficult to adjust to everything here. Sweetheart, it's not your fault at all," soothed Iona.

"You're not mad that we love our Mommy and Daddy here?" asked DJ.

Will had obviously told DJ what he had sensed from his sister. Iona didn't think that DJ could be that perceptive.

"No, DJ. I'm really not mad at you for that. I'm sorry I've made you feel that way. I really need to work through this, don't I?" said Iona ruefully.

Will and DJ didn't quite understand her but were perfectly willing to agree with her. Anything to make their beloved Iona happy. They now knew that she did still love them. That was a big relief. They had been puzzled and hurt when she had stopped paying attention to them and joining in their activities. They couldn't understand what had happened. They were thrilled to find that their sister still loved them after all.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

"Why don't we all live together here? Uncle Marcus and Aunt Susan don't live together too. Will and I don't like it at all," was the surprising comment from DJ sometime about halfway through dinner.

Sheridan looked at Delenn. The comments were completely unexpected because so far, DJ appeared to be the most content of the children that had come from the alternate universe. While Will had been constantly asking questions and Iona had them all worrying about her well-being, DJ had not been a concern at all. That situation was probably about to change.

"Ah, we're not married yet here," answered Sheridan shortly after mentally groping about for an answer. He immediately knew that he should have given the answer more thought. It didn't explain anything to DJ and although he was fairly sure about his relationship with Delenn, he had only recently started to think about proposing to her.

DJ heard his answer and frowned briefly in contemplation.

"So you can just get married tomorrow then and Mommy can stay with you all the time and have all her crystals and stuff here and she can meditate here and she'll always be here when she's on the station," said DJ, like it was the most obvious thing in the world. It was also an unsually long speech for normally she was a child of few words and short sentences.

"DJ, it is not as simple as that. We are not yet at a stage where we will be married shortly," said Delenn calmly.

"Why not?" demanded DJ petulantly. She looked at both of them with something of a defiant expression.

When neither answered immediately, she continued, "But you both love each other already and you spend a lot of time together anyway. Then it will be just the same here."

'How do you explain the complexities of a progressing relationship between a man and a woman to a three year old?' wondered John Sheridan. He usually thought that answering Will's numerous and sometimes incomprehensibly related questions had been difficult, but Will had never questioned him this way.

"DJ, the way our relationship is here is definitely different from that of your own parents. For now, this is the way things are," stated Delenn.

DJ's expression turned decidedly mutinous. "But it's not fair! You promised you would do everything to make it the same here," she shot back.

There was a brief silence.

"We are doing the best that we can. Unfortunately, as much as you may not like it, some things are just not the same here," said Delenn in a more stern tone of voice.

"But you can make it the same, I know you can. We have a lot of the same things and most of the other people are the same. You just don't want to," complained DJ.

"Delenn Jenna Sheridan, the relationship between your father and I is not a matter we need to discuss with you. We are both your parents, but the way we choose handle our relationship is not up to you," said Delenn sternly.

"But you're not Mommy and Daddy. Ina's right. You don't want us, we should go back. I want my Mommy and Daddy," cried DJ, suddenly very upset. She jumped off her chair and shot towards the main door. Her movements wer so quick and sudden that it took the adults a few seconds to respond.

By the time she ran out the door, Sheridan had just gotten out of his seat and grabbed his commlink in a hurry before rushing after her. As he did so, he had the the sense to yell into quick instructions into his commlink regarding DJ's sudden move. Delenn was not delayed by any thoughts of a comm and was already quickly following behind the little girl.

DJ was sobbing as she simply ran away as fast as she could. She moved very quickly for a little three year old and was used to racing all around the place with Will. She only knew that she wanted to get away and that she did not want the adults that she had left behind to find her. She desperately wanted her own parents, instinctively darting and hiding herself in a small, dark corner when she heard the swish of Delenn's cloak coming nearer.

She was so miserable that she did not take in any of her surroundings at all. She was just running. She just wanted to wail and find her own Mommy and Daddy for a hug and a cuddle. They weren't really her parents here and it just wasn't the same. It was just all wrong!

"Hey, hey little one. Not so fast, where are you going?" came a familiar masculine voice.

Uncle Mike, but he wasn't the same here either. He wasn't in the same uniform and she just felt that there was something more wrong with him here but she didn't know what it was. Also she had only very briefly seen him once since she had been here. She had yet to properly meet with the 'Uncle Mike' that was of this place.

DJ didn't reply but gave up and stopped running. She simply stood and sobbed with her face in her tiny hands. Garibaldi was not at all sure what to do with a crying three year old girl. He quickly guessed that she was Sheridan and Delenn's daughter from the alternate universe, having caught a glimpse of her bone crest. The news of the children had spread far and wide very quickly throughout the station. He did not have a commlink now and had not received Sheridan's instructions.

Michael Garibaldi looked at the little girl he had found curled up crying in a little dark corner. His mind whirled and he wondered if she was hurt. For a few moments he wasn't sure what to do. Then he gave a small sigh and set about trying his best to determine if she was hurt and to get her to stop crying. Then he would need to get her back to her parents as soon as he could.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

"Hey Zack," called Garibaldi as he entered the main security office.

"Hey Chief, sorry we're pretty busy here, the little Sheridan girl just ran off suddenly and we've got no idea where she is. Apparently she can move if she wants to and heaven only......." his words trailed off as Security Chief Zack Allen actually turned to look towards former chief of security Garibaldi.

"I know," said the man carrying DJ on his hip.

"Ah, report to all officers, we've found her. Delenn Jenna Sheridan has been found and brought to the main security offices," said Zack into his commlink without missing a beat, even as his eyebrows raised in curiosity at the sight.

There were a chorus of phrases that indicated the security teams stepping down from their search and of individual parties coming down immediately to claim the lost child.

"Zack, is she hurt?" came the question from Doctor Franklin, who had patched onto a vidscreen in the office.

"As far as I can tell, no. She's just a bit exhausted," chimed in Garibaldi, turning his body so that the Doctor could have a glance at the little girl curled up in his arms.

"Mr Garibaldi, how are you so sure about that? You should have brought her straight to Medlab when you found her," demanded the Doctor tersely.

"Hey Doc, relax. She was running fine when I first saw the little champ. Then she just stopped, sat down and kept on crying, eventually she just cried herself out. This girl's got a good set of legs on her. And lungs too," said Garibaldi lazily.

"You don't know if she was crying because she was hurt," protested the Doctor.

"I'm coming down there now," he snapped.

Garibaldi sighed in resignation. "Yes, Doc," he said to an empty screen, Doctor Franklin had not even bothered to sign off on his end.

He turned to look over at Zack, "I have a feeling that this office is going to run out of space very shortly."

Now that the crisis was over, Zack could allow a smile to cross his face. He thought that Garibaldi looked very comfortable in cradling the sleeping child on his shoulder. He had never seen the Chief around children before. Garibaldi was not doing too badly, at least he had managed to not frighten DJ away and bring her back safely.

"How did you find her, Chief?" asked Zack, taking care to not speak too loudly.

"Exactly like I said, Zack, she came barreling out of nowhere, then when I called her she just stopped and sort of curled up into a dark corner and cried herself into exhaustion. You should have seen her run, she'd have given some of the security guys a run for their money," said Garibaldi admiringly.

"She must recognize you then," concluded Zack.

Garibaldi looked thoughtful, considering his words. "You know what? I never thought about that, I just thought, well, that does explain why she didn't just go on running away from me. I mean, hey, I can probably look pretty scary to a small tyke right?"

Privately, Zack thought that currently Garibaldi looked far from scary at all. DJ was comfortably held in his arms and he was holding her very carefully and making sure that she was well supported.

"Mr Garibaldi," said Captain John Sheridan as he stepped into the office, interrupting the conversation.

Immediately, he stretched his arms out to take DJ. However, instead of handing her over, Michael made no move to return her. Sheridan's eyes narrowed slightly.

By now, more people were arriving as predicted. Doctor Franklin had arrived, so had Delenn, Susan, Iona and Lennier. Marcus had been watching Will tonight on his night off and they were away somewhere for some male bonding time together and was not contacted when the initial alert had gone out because no one wanted to alarm Will, which was probably the only reason why they had not appeared as well. Susan had just been about to call for his help when Zack had announced DJ's recovery.

"Thank you for finding her, Michael. I'll take her now." It was an effort to keep his temper in check. It was already strained to the limit with worry and Sheridan could not believe that Garibaldi didn't immediately hand DJ over.

"Not so fast, Captain," said Garibaldi.

"Michael," said Susan, eyes flashing, in a warning tone.

"Can I take her please, Uncle Mike?" asked Iona with a sweet, pleading tone.

Garibaldi focused on her.

"You sure you can take her weight?" he eyed her gaunt frame uncertainly.

"She's very light and I'd never drop her," answered Iona.

Nodding, Garibaldi bypassed the Captain and placed DJ in her sister's arms.

"Delenn," he acknowledged, as he caught her eyes.

Doctor Franklin was immediately at Iona's side, carefully checking the little girl for any injuries. The atmosphere was still charged with tension. Iona, flanked by Doctor Franklin, eased herself away from the cluster of adults in the office.

"Why was she running away, Captain?" asked Garibaldi. After quickly seizing up the situation when the others had walked in, he had pieced together some ideas. Like the fact that the little girl had emerged from the direction of Sheridan's quarters where he knew that she was living.

"I don't have to answer your questions," replied the Captain irritably.

"No, you don't," Garibaldi paused speculatively.

"But it might help to answer that if you want to stop her doing that again. DJ could get into much more trouble another time," said Garibaldi.

"Thank you, Mr Garibaldi. We will address that. It seems that DJ is having some trouble adjusting to living here, more so than we first realized," explained Delenn.

"Of course, Ambassador. I wish you all a good night," said Garibaldi courteously. He strode out, head held high. After a few moments, Susan rushed after him to demand more answers. Lennier melted away quietly.

Sheridan remained rooted to his spot for a while. Delenn touched him on the shoulder.

"Come, they are waiting for us," she indicated Iona and Doctor Franklin, who had taken over carrying DJ. Together they walked over to take DJ and silently they carried her back to John's quarters.


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

"Entilzha," greeted Marcus respectfully as he entered Delenn's quarters.

Delenn sighed, "Marcus, I asked you to come today, not in the role of a Ranger. You may address me as Delenn," she said calmly.

Marcus looked shocked.

Taking in the look on his face, she waved a small dismissive hand, "It does not matter how you address me, Marcus, whatever makes you the most comfortable will do," she said.

"Now take your seat," she continued sitting down gracefully.

Marcus had a feeling that she wanted to talk to him about the children from the alternate universe. But why him? Surely John and Susan would be the ones to call for a discussion concerning the children.

"You play an equally large part in their lives, Marcus," stated Delenn, clearly reading the thoughts on his face.

"Pardon me?" stuttered Marcus uncomprehendingly.

"You wonder why I am choosing to speak to you instead of John or Susan, it is because you, or the you in their universe had an integral role in their lives. You are Will's father and Susan's husband, stepfather to Iona and godfather to DJ. You matter just as much as John, Susan or myself in their world. Do you not see that?" said Delenn gently.

She could see the idea begin to sink in very quickly. She knew that Marcus was fully supportive of the children and completely adored them but was not consciously aware of the depth of his influence and authority over their lives. He had simply assumed that he had minor role compared to the other three adults. However, the fact was that he was equally responsible for the children and held an equal role to them in their heavily intertwined relationships. Like it or not, whether he was married to Susan or not in this universe, the children regarded him as a father figure and a major part of their family.

Right now, Delenn needed someone else to talk to apart from John and Susan. They were both too human and their conflicting emotions were overwhelming their ability to talk clearly and rationally when it came to the topic of the children. There was something else that she could not quite put a finger on that seemed to restrain the both of them to some extent. Something that they both knew about but she did not. However, Delenn had given up pursing that elusive thread for the moment as the pressing need to discuss other matters pertaining to the children took precedence. She could be patient, she would find out more later.

"Oh," was the simple statement after Marcus had assimilated the ideas introduced into comprehensible data in his brain.

Delenn sat patiently while she waited for him to consolidate all of it properly.

"Ah, I see," muttered Marcus after a few more minutes of contemplation.

"What did you want to talk about?" he asked hesitantly.

Delenn looked at him steadily.

"How does Will feel about you and Susan not being married?" inquired Delenn frankly.

Again Marcus felt the breath knocked out of him by mere words. Obviously, Delenn did not beat around the bush. He would probably stand up better in a physical fight with a dozen men. This unexpected discussion was a veritable onslaught of crippling metaphysical blows.

"I'm not really sure," he eventually answered warily.

Marcus collected his thoughts and looked at her.

"To be honest, it hasn't really been much of a subject," said Marcus.

Delenn sighed.

"May I ask, why are you asking me that?" said Marcus.

"DJ insists that we should make things the same as they are in her world," answered Delenn.

"Is that why she ran away?" responded Marcus, fully aware of last night's events by now.

"At dinner, she said that she wanted John and myself to be married and for me to live with them always. She also said that Will was unhappy that you and Susan were not married and that our relationships are different here," explained Delenn.

Marcus winced slightly at the mention of Will's view. But then he instantly understood. After all, they were just children, why would they not expect their world to revolve around themselves? Though he was sure that they were not spoilt rotten, the children had obviously been securely loved and indulged by their parents. It should not be a surprise that they expected it to be the same way here.

How could they make that possible here? Marcus suddenly felt a wave of despair. If Delenn and Sheridan, who were already in an established relationship, could not fulfill DJ's expectations as parents. How much less could he be the father that Will required?

And his relationship with Susan. That was a whole other universe of a minefield. Since Will's revealation that his parents were expecting another child, he hadn't even been able to look Susan in the eye properly, much less start a conversation about their lack of a relationship. Oh yes, they each individually showered Will with love and attention. They could speak to each other when there was a need, but casual convcersation had dried up miserably and they had avoided being alone together at all. Will was a very smart child and was eventually going to start wondering about his 'parents' relationship. Would they be able to handle that?


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7**

"If the Psi Corps find out about Will, they'll take him," confirmed Lyta, in answer to Susan's greatest concern.

"How strong are his abilities?" asked Susan, making a great effort to keep her fears in check. If unleashed without constraint, they would probably be terrifying enough to awaken the sleeping Will.

"Technically he's too young for any formal testing but I'd say that at the very least he's above psi 5 and that is a very conservative estimate, I would think that he'd be nearer a psi 8 to 10 maybe more. It will become clearer when he gets older and I think that he has the potential to become much stronger," said Lyta, without much expression.

Susan's heart hammered painfully as she absorbed this information. Her mouth was dry and she had gone extremely pale.

"How... how is that possible? I'm barely telepathic at all," she gasped.

"I'm not sure, but what is obvious is that there is a genetic heritage in your family line. Sometimes it skips a generation. Your mother appears to have had average telepathic capabilities but she was fully able to communicate telepathically, which requires at least a psi 3. I'd also have expected it to be stronger in Iona but somehow it's not, so my other hypothesis is that maybe it's also because he is Marcus' son," reasoned Lyta dispassionately.

"What do you mean?" asked Susan sharply.

"The Corps are very particular about the suitability of their pairings. They chart family trees meticulously to try to breed more powerful telepaths. From what I'm aware of, telepathic ability is usually inherited and even if the parents are only latent telepaths, some well matched pairings can produce very powerful telepathic offspring. Thankfully, they've not quite discovered exactly how that happens or else I'm sure that they would find a way to exploit the knowledge for their own ends," explained Lyta with a grimace.

She looked at Susan, "I think it's more than likely Marcus has latent telepathic abilities too. Some of the things he seems to know, at times it does feel like more than just intuition and sheer luck. And for some reason when you match your genes together, you get a much stronger telepath, like Will. I'm saying this because even though Iona is mildly telepathic, she is nearly and adult but her abilities are not half as strong as Will's and she is John's daughter. I certainly don't think the Captain could ever be described as telepathic in any way," commented Lyta dryly.

Susan sat ramrod straight as she listened to Lyta's words. It was everything that she had feared and more. Will was only four and he was already a fairly strong telepath, most telepaths were latent until their adolescent years somehow triggered their telepathic abilities. Deep down, she was still worried that her own latent powers would one day be activated. Somehow she had always felt that her telepathy was only dormant, eventually to be brought forth.

It was horrifying to find out that her long-held fear had partly come true. Only what she had feared was dormant in her, was brought to life in Will. Will, who was somehow her son but yet not quite. In a different universe he was her son, her son!

"What? How do I protect him?" said Susan slowly, trying to marshal a strategy against the overwhelming fear.

Lyta stared at her.

"I suggest that you talk to Marcus. Somehow I get the feeling that he may know more about telepathy than you think. He's certainly very good at shielding his thoughts. I suppose that's a useful technique for a Ranger but I've always wondered about him having some telepathic ability," advised Lyta.

A few minutes passed in silence.

"Is there anything else?" asked Lyta, preparing to leave.

"Yes, how strong is Iona?" asked Susan, assuming that her daughter's telepathic ability was stronger than her own.

"I don't know. She might be able to tell you herself. She declined to be tested," replied Lyta.

Iona had been taught to shield herself and fake the tests as well. Lyta naturally assumed that she had been trained by her own mother, who probably felt the same as the Susan here did, in such matters. Iona's mother had very successfully impressed upon Iona the need to be suspicious and on her guard against any telepath and to always deny her abilities.

"Thank you," said Susan, standing up to see Lyta to the door.

Lyta answered with a brief nod and walked out the door without a backward glance.

........................................................................................................

Marcus walked into Susan's quarters with a resigned air. He knew that the only reason he was here was that she had something to say regarding Will. Otherwise, he would never be summoned outside of official business. He was no further forward in his quest to win her favour and more importantly her heart.

He was too caught up in his own thoughts regarding the nature of their current relationship that initially he did not notice Susan's alarm. When he sat down and eventually took in her appearance, he was startled to see fear in her eyes. What had happened?

"Susan? What's wrong? Is it something about Will? Susan?" questioned Marcus impatiently.

Susan took a deep breath and half nodded miserably. It was extremely hard for her to broach the subject of her telepathy. Her ingrained sense of fear of betraying herself and having herself or someone else that she loved subjected to the kind of treatment that her mother had suffered was intensely overwhelming. She knew that she could trust Marcus and indeed, she did trust him with her life. He definitely could be trusted with this; actually he was already aware of her telepathy from Will's stray comments. But all that logic could not quell her irrational fears that had haunted her for so many years. Added to that, she had nearly worked herself up into a frenzy with worry before finally realising that Lyta was right. The best person to talk to was Marcus. Will was his son too.

"Susan?" prodded Marcus sharply, he was starting to get worked up himself.

Susan swallowed and took a deep breath. She clasped her hands tightly together in her lap and kept her eyes lowered to the floor.

"It's about his telepathic powers," began Susan.

Marcus relaxed a fraction.

"What about them?" asked Marcus when Susan took a long time to continue.

"I asked Lyta to try to assess his strength," said Susan hesitantly.

"What? And you didn't even tell me? Susan, you should have let me know about something like that," said Marcus in exasperation.

Susan was startled by his comment. It distracted her momentarily.

"Well, it's not like you're around that much," she shot back sharply.

"He's my son too and we're raising him together remember? You've not mentioned a thing about doing that. Why did you do something like that? He's only four for goodness sake; most telepaths only develop full powers when they reach adolescence. Luckily I agree that Lyta can be trusted too. Otherwise, he could be in a lot of danger," snapped Marcus.

Susan was angry now. How dare he assume that she regarded Will's safety lightly? There was no way that she would ever do something that she thought would remotely compromise his safety.

"Well, I'm sorry but I've done it and now there are things that we need to discuss from that. Besides, as he gets it from my side of the family, it was my responsibility to ensure that his telepathic abilities are monitored and that he does not fall into the clutches of Psi Corps," she ranted, then put a hand over her mouth in shock. She had just confessed that she had telepathic abilities.

Marcus was now up and pacing. He came back to stand at her seat and looked her in the eye. He leaned down and put both his arms on the armrests on both sides of her seat, trapping her in place.

"Why do you assume it's always your responsibility and that it's all about you? How do you know that his abilities aren't from 'my side of the family' as you've so termed it," he growled at her. His face was inches from hers and she could just about feel his breath on her face.

Susan's eyes went wide.


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8 **

"Hello, Lennier. Thank you for watching them, I'll take these rascals off your hands now," said Iona fondly, as Will and DJ hurled themselves at her when she came through the door.

But they both quickly turned beseeching faces at her and Lennier.

"We don't have to go yet, do we Lennier? We want to finish the musical crystal game," blurted out Will.

"We're nearly done. Please, Ina?" coaxed DJ sweetly.

"Well, I'm sure Lennier has much to do," began Iona.

Lennier gravely shook his head and possibly gave a small but dignified smile.

"That is no trouble at all. They are welcome to stay and finish the game, they have finally gotten most of the crystals into the form of a proper melody," said Lennier.

"Yay! Thanks, Lennier, c'mon DJ," said Will excitedly, grabbing DJ's arm as they both ran back towards the crystals in a far corner of the room.

Iona sighed in amusement.

"Oh well, thanks Lennier. So a proper melody huh? What level did you set it at?" inquired Iona.

"They are doing very well considering that they were not taught from birth. They are now completing level three together," stated Lennier.

He was staring at the two absorbed children in their corner, and then he turned towards Iona and gave a polite half bow.

"Please excuse me, I have forgotten my manners, would you care for some refreshment while you await the completion of their task?" he asked.

Iona stifled a giggle at his formal manner. Privately, she wondered what Lennier would be like if he ever relaxed his continuously proper behaviour.

"No thanks, Lennier. I'm good for now. So that's how you keep them out of mischief huh?" commented Iona.

Lennier glanced at her.

"It does not always suffice," he admitted.

Iona laughed.

"I'm not surprised," she replied knowingly.

"On the whole they are not too difficult to entertain," continued Lennier.

"Yes, well it's very kind of you to say so but somehow I feel that I must warn you, if we remain here for long, there are times when they are going to be very difficult to manage," said Iona.

Lennier subtly raised an eyebrow at her and quietly said, "If?"

Suddenly, the conversation turned bleak. It had just been a casual chat up till now.

Iona turned away and just stared at another corner of the room, willing her eyes to not well up with tears and fighting for composure, desperately hoping that Will would be too distracted to pick up on her turbulent emotions.

Lennier immediately looked contrite. He seemed to be able to project sober and serious emotions very well but not the light-hearted, cheerful ones.

"Iona, I am sorry for my thoughtlessness. Please accept my apologies for my careless words," said Lennier humbly and softly, he had moved closer to her, but did not attempt to touch her.

When she had gathered her breath, she attempted a watery smile.

"It's fine, Lennier. You're right anyway," said Iona equally softly, looking down.

"We're done!" crowed Will, simultaneously activating the crystals to project the melody he and DJ had crafted.

It was a simple melody, mostly sweet and cheerful but with a few darker notes interspersed through it.

Iona picked up on them immediately and mourned that they still could not be completely light-hearted and free. In her heart of hearts, she was glad that they were also still a little distressed even as she chided herself for such thoughts. They were so little; they deserved to be free from any sort of turmoil.

"Ina? Should we go now?" asked DJ, slipping a hand into her sister's.

Iona smiled at her and squeezed her hand, nodding.

"Thank you, Lennier. It's been a super time," chirped Will, unrestrainedly hugging Lennier warmly.

Lennier remained unperturbed and allowed the hug.

"You are most welcome, Master Will," he said gravely.

Will giggled at being called 'Master Will'.

"Thank you, Lennier," spoke DJ, gracefully bowing.

"You're welcome as well, Delenn Jenna," answered Lennier, bowing in return.

Will had released him and taken his place on the other side of Iona. The three left, with Will chattering animatedly and DJ elaborating every once in a while. Lennier resumed his work at his desk.

.......................................................................................................

"Really? That sounds....," Iona's bright voice trailed off as she looked at the occupants of the room they had just walked into.

"Daddy!" squealed Will, instantly running to his father happily.

Iona blinked and her senses caught up with attuning themselves into the charged atmosphere, which Will had already effectively broken. Although he had pretty strong telepathic powers, Will was in many ways, just a normal little boy. He wasn't good at picking up subtle nuances or other people's discomfort. He just charged around, taking things at face value.

In the split second that she looked up, Iona noticed the position that Susan and Marcus had been in. He was leaning towards her, his face just a few inches from hers with his hands firmly on both the chair's armrests, effectively keeping her in place with his own body. They had been staring intently into each others' eyes.

'Oooops!' was the first thought in Iona's mind.

DJ was still holding her hand, just watching as Will jumped into his father's arms. After hugging Will and tossing him briefly up into the air, eliciting delighted squeals, Marcus smiled and beckoned to her as well.

DJ didn't hesitate as a smile burst across her face and she ran over happily. She was also given a hug and a gentle toss. Will had scrambled to his 'mother' for a hug as well. Will remained cuddled into Susan's side, as she in turn, gave DJ a warm hug.

'Well, this is an interesting turn of events,' thought Iona even as she watched them with a smile.

"Hello, Firebrand," greeted Marcus cheerfully to Iona, scooping Will up and placing him on his shoulders.

"Hello, Iona," said Susan.

Iona though she sounded a bit breathless. Just what had been going on? She groaned mentally at their awful timing and resolved to make it up to them somehow. Marcus really did deserve a break, he was so amazing and he would be so good for her.

Gently and gingerly Iona tuned onto Susan and Marcus's emotions. It was very easy for her as they were her family and she had never had problems being completely in tune with them. She didn't probe their thoughts, she just wanted to get a feel of what had been going on before she and the children had intruded.

'Hmmm,' she noted that Susan was also slightly flushed and her emotions seemed to be all over the place. There was anger and fear and there it was, just a hint of desire. From Marcus, there was a residue of anger but it was quickly receding as he started to play with Will and DJ.

Susan on the other hand, was not as quick to recover and she curled back into her seat as she idly watched them play. She was glad of the reprieve, that Iona could also sense but she was now trying desperately to sort out her emotions.

When Susan thought to look up at Iona, she had already disappeared into the kitchen.

"Marcus, are you staying for dinner?" asked Iona, while gathering ingredients from cupboards.

"Yeah, Daddy, eat with us," chimed in Will.

Marcus longed to stay more than anything in the universe but looked in deference at Susan. She simply shrugged and offered no objection.

"Yes, thank you, Iona," he replied.

"Great," said Iona.

"Do you need any help?" asked Marcus courteously.

"Don't worry about it. I'm just doing something simple," Iona answered breezily.

Susan was still curled up in her seat and watching Marcus play with Will and DJ. When she caught herself admiring his lean, muscular body and how he effortlessly lifted both children with one arm, she gave herself a mental shake.

"I'm going to help Iona, don't break anything okay?" said Susan, getting up abruptly.

Marcus spent a few seconds admiring the sway of her hips as she strode purposefully towards the kitchen with Will on his back and DJ clutched at his hip. He guessed that she had no idea that he had been aware of her gaze even as he frolicked with the children. And yet about fifteen minutes ago they had been at each others' throats. He really could get himself into the most exasperating situations was his mental chastisement. But surely this was progress?


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9**

"So the universe that I came from, it's ... it's been completely destroyed?" gasped Iona, staring tragically at Draal.

Draal frowned impatiently and looked at her with irritation. That was the problem with allowing young creatures from races that had no knowledge of what The Great Machine was or what it was capable of to access it, even just to obtain information. He really had not wanted to but he did have a grudging liking for Commander Ivanova and she had terrified the Zathras with her threats which he would have to bear the consequences of for days yet. He really didn't want the Commander to do even more damage to his planet but he realized that the Commander was not going to back down from this request. He suspected that even Delenn supported this particular request.

"No, child. You cannot destroy a whole universe. You can damage the living beings in it but a universe remains forever. What has happened is that The Great Machine is unable to access this universe at this particular point in space and time," growled Draal.

"Why can't it access that universe, Draal?" asked Commander Ivanova. The girl who had come with her was staring blankly into space with tears welling up in her eyes.

"Because that particular portal point is not accessible!" replied Draal.

"That particular point? So you mean that the universe is accessible but just not through this 'branch' of The Great Machine. So what could have happened? Could it be because the whole of Epsilon 3 got destroyed?" reasoned Ivanova.

"That is a likely conjecture," affirmed Draal.

"So they could still be alive right?" asked Iona, after a brief silence.

"It is nearly impossible to destroy The Great Machine," said Draal solemnly.

"Nearly but not impossible. So it may be a far stretch but some people could still be alive right?" Iona clung to her stubborn hope.

"Iona, it would take a lot to destroy a planet like Epsilon 3 and if the Shadows managed to do that, then there would be very little chance that anyone could survive or not be enslaved to the Shadows if they were," said Ivanova gently.

"But if I could find a way back, I could find out for sure," argued Iona, refusing to accept defeat.

"Child, the nearest portal is located in a galaxy so far it would take a human several lifetimes to reach it," said Draal.

"Thank you, Draal. For your help in this matter. We will take our leave now," said Ivanova.

She understood Iona's futile hopes. But there was no point in having them dashed any further, the girl probably had as much as she could take for now. The information they had obtained was overwhelming.

Iona let Susan lead her to the shuttle but there was a defiant look in her eyes. She would not give up hope. She would find a way to discover what had happened to the people she cared about after they had left.

B5 - B5 - B5 - B5 - B5

"So they're never going back there, then," said John Sheridan with a sigh. He felt elated that the children would remain, sorrow and anger for their loss but overall a sense of profound relief that the children had been spared such a horrible fate.

"How is Iona?" asked Marcus, with genuine concern.

"She's devastated but still determined. I don't think she's ever going to stop trying to find out what happened to her family. She'll never give up," sighed Susan.

"Indeed, she sounds a lot like her mother and father," observed Delenn quietly.

John and Susan shared a guilty look.

"Do you think this will help at all with her nightmares?" asked Marcus.

"I don't know. But she is a lot less depressed now. Since she started her training with you, she has been a lot better than she was before," mused Susan.

"The training gives Iona a sense of purpose and grounding. She is very strong but she needs firm guidance as she is still very young. I fear that learning to parent a child of her age is even more challenging than for the little ones," stated Delenn.

Marcus smirked.

"It's called being a teenager, Entilzha. Humans at that age can be extremely difficult to 'parent' as you put it," said Marcus.

"And we have another two kids who are just as much of a handful since they're our kids. I doubt they'll be any less stubborn when they want things. We have no idea what we're doing, Normally when you have kids you have time to prepare for them," groaned Susan.

"Well, we'll do the best that we can in bringing them up. It can't be that bad. We'll work it out together," consoled John.

"Hah! While fighting a war with the Shadows? And the threat from PsiCorps? And you have two girls, Captain Sheridan! What about when they start dating? Iona's already at that age," shot back Susan.

John's eyes widened in shock. He hadn't even considered that.

"Uh, there doesn't seem to an issue with that yet, Captain. I suggest that you worry about that when it does come up. I do have pressing business to attend to, if you'll excuse me," said Marcus trying to make good his exit.

"We're not done yet, Marcus," said Susan firmly catching him by the wrist and forcing him back into his seat.

"But my contact," protested the Ranger.

"Can wait. This has waited too long already," replied Susan sharply.

"Iona isn't the only one we need to be worried about. I'd rather not discuss this at all but since Will is nearly always with DJ, she may be affected," started Susan.

"What is the matter with Will?" asked Delenn.

"There is nothing the matter with Will," said Marcus, glaring at Susan.

"Marcus, I think you should allow the Commander to explain," said Delenn.

"He's a strong telepath. There is no doubt that the PsiCorps would claim him as soon as they find out about him," said Susan, a little desperately.

"He's a little young, isn't he? I thought telepathy only manifested in adolescence," said John.

"Will is a particularly gifted telepath. According to Lyta, his powers are already pretty strong. As he grows up, they'll develop and just get stronger," sighed Marcus.

"And as he and DJ are always together, she could be a target too," reasoned John.

"To stay safe, his power must be hidden," said Delenn.

"Yes, but how? I can't train him, I can only block scans and I'm no where near as powerful. Lyta has little experience in training and none at all in training such a young child," said Susan with some agitation.

"My people can," said Delenn.

"The Minbari? But how do we get someone and why would they help with this?" worried Susan.

"Minbari telepaths are less variable than humans. It is a trait passed on in families and their telepathy is in full force from birth, or even from conception. Their training begins when they are in infancy. Will is old enough to understand commands and obey them, he should be able to undergo the training," explained Delenn.

"But does that mean he'll have to be on Minbar? I don't see how we could deal with that. Will needs to be with his family," said Susan.

"I can find someone who would be able to come here. I think a Ranger would be best as the children will also need someone to constantly monitor their security. Physically and telepathically," said Delenn.

"You're going to get one of your highly trained and highly skilled Rangers to play babysitter? Won't they find it a bit demeaning to do something like this?" said Susan in surprise.

"We live for the One, we die for the One. No task is too small or demeaning for a Ranger. However, I don't think it's going to be an easy job. You're right, the PsiCorps will be interested and the children will become highly visible once we figure out how to let the rest of the universe know about them. I'm afraid they will need protection, not only against the PsiCorps. Iona would be quite difficult to spirit away but two little children can be easily taken by our enemies and held for ransom demands. The Ranger will have a full time job," said Marcus, thinking out loud.

"Why do we have to let the rest of the universe know about the children?" said Susan, in disbelief.

"Because they're your children! Apart from yours truly, you three are highly visible and important people in this universe. As it is, I have no doubts that reports are making their way all over this sector about the children. Whether we confirm the news or not, it has spread and there is no way to keep them a secret unless you keep them locked up in the furthest corner of Down Below and even then, someone is bound to sniff it out," ranted Marcus.

"Marcus is right. The kids do pose a huge security risk. A full time security detail would be too much but a single Ranger with telepathic abilities would be invaluable," considered John.

"Then it is settled. Until I can find a suitable Ranger to fill the post, Marcus will guard the children," said Delenn firmly.

"I .. what?" said Marcus in a daze.

"You are excused from your normal duties. You will be guarding the children for now," concluded Delenn. And that ended the meeting.


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10

"How are you doing in training?" asked Sheridan, grasping his mug of tea and contemplating that he really did not know how to talk to a teenage girl, especially one that was his 'daughter'.

"Well, I suppose. Marcus is going to find out which of the more formal training sessions for the Rangers are available for me to join. I suppose technically I'm not a Ranger but it will help in terms of making me less of a security risk so I guess they'll probably make concessions for me to join in," said Iona, not really looking at him while delivering her explanation.

"I'm sure Delenn will be able to sort something out," said John. He wasn't quite sure what else to say next.

They both busied themselves with eating the food at the table for the next few minutes.

Then Iona glanced up at him and sighed. "You don't have to do this, you know. I mean I'm nearly grown up by now and you're not really my Dad. DJ's still little and she won't remember as much. So she'll definitely need you around but you've got a lot to do and tons going on. You don't have to take me on too," she said slowly, looking down.

John Sheridan was silent. He didn't want to lie to Iona and somehow he had realized that she was able to read him fairly accurately. He guessed that she had been telepathically linked to her father. He wasn't sure how much of a telepathic link she had with himself but he would guess that it was present somehow even if it was not as strong.

"I can't read you, don't worry. I can feel your stronger emotions but most people can read body language anyway and it's not all that different. I can just about sense you. I could feel more of my Dad. We were pretty close, I guess. As close as we could be anyway," said Iona.

"So you got along pretty well with your Dad, huh?" asked John with a smile. Little steps.

"Yeah, he was pretty great. He'd make some time for me even with everything. And he came back to the farm when he could. He'd call and even when he couldn't he...," Iona suddenly trailed off.

"What did he do when he couldn't call, Iona?" asked John gently.

"He knew I could feel him even if he couldn't really feel me. So every night he'd take a few minutes to say good night and that he loved me. I guess to be honest I couldn't always really feel him thinking of me, I'm a very mild telepath but I'm sure I could at times," admitted Iona softly.

"I'm sure you could, Iona," assured Sheridan gently.

"Iona, I do want to be a part of your life if you'll let me. Yes, I do have a lot of things going on but I would be extremely honoured to have the privilege of being a part of your new life here.

It sounds like you had a pretty special relationship with your real Dad and I know that I'll never be able to take his place. I won't try to. But maybe we can build our own relationship here, somehow. I have no idea how to be your Dad but I'm willing to learn and I'm going to make mistakes for which I apologize in advance but I'd really like the chance to try. Will you let me?" said John thoughtfully.

"Really?" said Iona.

"Why?" she asked after a few moments.

John Sheridan thought about his answer carefully.

"Because you're a wonderful young woman and any man would be proud to be your father. And I'm sure that you are nearly grown-up as you said but I think that you could still do with having a family and having a Dad around even if he's not really the same man that you grew up with. Who knows? I may be able to contribute in some way to your life as you go on growing up.

And I know that I could definitely do with a beautiful, intelligent young girl as my daughter. I'm sure there's a lot that I could learn from you and you are a large part of what makes my life worth living. Worth fighting the Shadows for," stated John honestly.

Iona looked at him silently. Sheridan had no idea how to be more open to help a telepath read his thoughts. What with the existence of Psi Corps, the opposite was what most people learned to do from fear. But now he wished that he could let Iona know that he was truly sincere. He wanted to have a relationship with her. She was already very important to him.

"I guess, Draal made a really good choice for us," she said finally.

Sheridan couldn't stop the beaming smile on his face at her words.


End file.
